2012 Swiss Re Stadium riot
The 2012 Swiss Re Stadium riot occurred at and around Cola Hills FC's Swiss Re Stadium in Cola Hills during and after a friendly between Cola Hills and Porttown on 23 July 2012. The match was won by the visiting side 2–1, but the game was marred by pitch invasions and disorder in the streets outside the ground, where one Cola Hills supporter was stabbed and later died in hospital. More than 50 other people were injured. The disturbances were met with anger by the Leeds Football Association, the Leedsian government, Cola Hills residents, and the two clubs involved. The riot was seen as the first real test for the fledgling Leeds National Police Department, who were in charge of policing outside the stadium for the game. They were praised for quickly handling the situation and halting the riots in less than half an hour, albeit with the help of Home City Police (as the riot occurred during the period when HCP were training LNPD officers). The LNPD were not in charge of policing inside the stadium; this was the task of private security firm G4S, who were criticised for failing to cope with the situation during the game. Background Cola Hills and Porttown have a long-standing rivalry that dates back to the clubs' first meeting, a friendly on 23 September 2006. The rivalry stems from the first few games between the two sides, which were fiery and hotly-contested affairs; the two sides' similar strength; and the fact that the two sides have played many games against each other. Over the years, there have been several instances of violence between some fans of the two clubs - most notably in 2006, 2007, and 2009. However, these occurrences had subsided in recent years. Prior to this match, there had been 36 encounters between Cola Hills and Porttown, of which Cola Hills had won 16, Porttown 12, and 8 were drawn. The previous tie was a friendly played on 7 July 2012 at the Porttown Stadium which ended with a 1–1 draw. Match The match kicked off at 1945 on 23 July 2012. Porttown took the lead in the 23rd minute of the match. Cola Hills equalised in the 49th, before Porttown re-established their lead in the 72nd minute. Disturbances during the match Cola Hills fans had been teasing the Porttown fans prior to their first goal, and so, when Porttown scored mid-way through the first half, the Porttown fans decided to get their own back. The Porttown fans stayed on the pitch for a few minutes as the G4S Security teams struggled to get them back in the stands. Meanwhile, Cola Hills fans booed and chanted "Get them off the pitch!". After five minutes, the match restarted with all the fans in the stands. When Cola Hills equalised at the start of the second half, they staged a pitch invasion to get their own back. Mocking the Cola Hills fans earlier, Porttown fans booed and chanted "Get them off the pitch!". There was at some point a mix up with security, and there was some confusion as to where to send the fans, resulting in the fans being stranded on the pitch for fifteen minutes. Fans of both teams got increasingly agitated with the security, provided by G4S. Eventually, fans of both teams started chanting "You don't know what you're doing!" at the security teams. After twenty minutes, the match restarted with all the fans in the stands. When Porttown re-established their lead in the 72nd minute, the Porttown fans invaded the pitch, at which point the Cola Hills players walked off the pitch and refused to play. Stadium security appealed for calm over the stadium intercom, but Porttown fans just booed the security announcer. They then chanted that the Cola Hills players were "mardy arses", to which the Cola Hills fans responded with booing and yet more chants of "Get them off the pitch!". Aware of the increasingly tense situation, G4S security tried to get the Porttown fans back in the stands as soon as possible. This was met with violence from the Porttown fans who attacked security, and then returned to the stands in their own time. After thirty minutes, the fans returned to the stands, but there was no sign of the Cola Hills players. Eventually, five minutes later and after a lot of persuasion, they returned to the pitch and resumed the game. At the final whistle, Porttown fans again invaded the pitch, overwhelming security which had been increased in a ring by the pitchside. Cola Hills fans reacted by sending out resounding boos, but they also reacted angrily to the security firm's apparent lack of skills, chanting "What sort of idiot would put you in charge of the Olympics?" and "You're absolutely useless!". Post-match incidents The fans exited the stadium rather promptly. Most of the Porttown fans got on special extra buses that had been laid on by First Animal Crossing from the Swiss Re Stadium to Porttown, and some Cola Hills fans got on extra Leeds Buses 17s home. The buses, and the roads they went down, would prove to be the main fighting point. The majority of the violence began at 2119, nine minutes after the match ended, when a Porttown supporter threw a brick through the window of LB 31307 (Scania Enviro400) on the 17 packed with Cola Hills fans. In response, Cola Hills fans threw bricks at FAC 40662 (Dennis Pointer) on a special service packed with Porttown fans. During resulting violence targeted at "fan buses", 8 LB and 6 FAC buses were damaged, including Enviro400s, Pointers, Presidents, and Olympians. LNPD acted swiftly to stop the violence in less than a quarter of an hour, limiting damage to buses and property and also limiting injuries. Over 100 arrests were made, and the road on which all the buses were attacked, Stadium Way, was closed until late on 24 July so that all 14 buses could be towed away for repairs and debris could be cleared up. There was also fighting in a nearby fan park. A Cola Hills fan was stabbed by Porttown fans, and severely injured. LNPD officers rushed to his aid and stayed there until the ambulance arrived, although sadly he later died in hospital. The person who stabbed him was later arrested and is currently in jail facing murder charges. The LNPD acted swiftly in the fan park and stopped fighting in less than ten minutes.